Steam-engine.



No. 686,483. Patented Nov. I2, IQOI.

G. B. SMITH.

STEAM ENGINE. (Appuweion' med kan. 2s. 1901.) (No Model.)

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A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GARY B. SMITH, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-TI-IIRDS TO W. II. ELLIOTT AND J. I-I.' CALWELL, OF CLEVELAND, OIIIO.

STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,483, dated November 12, 1901.

Application filed January 28, 1901l Serial No. 44,964. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t 'may con/ceri@ Be it knownv that I, GARYB. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Engines g and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to steam-engines; and the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts substantially as shown and described, and particularly pointed out inthe-claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plain elevation of my new and improved engine and alongitudinal section of the valvechamber and Valve therein. Fig. 2 is acentral sectional elevation of the engine and valve mechanism with the valve and other parts in the same relation as in Fig. 1, but shown at right angles kto the view in Fig. 1.' Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation corresponding to Fig. 1, but with the valve reversed or moved up, as occurs when the piston has reached its lowest stroke, asin Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional elevation of the engine cylinder and valve alone, taken in the same plane as Fig. 2, but with the piston and valve in opposite position to that shown in Fig. 2 and the valve sectioned lengthwise. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the parts in full on line B B, Fig. 3. Fig. G isadetail section of the pivot connection for the'valve-operating links'. Y

A represents the engine-cylinder, and B the base thereof. The valve-chamber containing the low-pressure balance-valve C is'an integral portion of casing A, and the said chamber is practically within the'cylindercasing, being an integral part thereof, so that as theV said valve operates' in opening and closing the steam ducts and ports it is wholly inclosed with the engine-piston and has no connection Whatever with the outside air in so faras its operations are concerned. It is provided with a stem a, extending to the outside at one end only for purposes of adjustment, as we shall see, but has no other out? side connections. This also simplifies the operation of the engine very materially and avoids the annoyance and expense of packings about parts that are constantly working and wearing out. The valve-chamber a is in a sense a distinct part within casing A, in that it is for valve C, and is constructed with respect to the use of a valve adapted to slide axially withinlimits and to be actuated directly from piston D by mechanism wholly within casing A. The said valve-chamber has-connected therewith a steam inlet or su pply pipe D andan outlet or exhaust pipe E, opening each to duct d and d', respectively, in the valve-casing, and said ducts open at each end to valve C, according to the position of said valve.

The valve C is a cylindrical body formed with what are practically sixteen distinct ports, if all the openings therein be numbered; but for the purposes of this description the said openings are specified as constituting eight different ports, and are marked by numbers running from l to 8, inclusive and consecutively, as will now appear. These ports are dual, being divided into four at each side, lengthwise of the valve, by a central dividing-Web h, and only four on one and the same side are used at one time. Then when the engine is to be reversed in its'direction of operation a half-turn of said valve brings the other four ports into operation and effects the reversal, as we' shallsee. The division of ports by web h falls onto a line which appears to split all the ports in two at one of their openings, while the other opening to each port is at right angles to said web and ata dierent point in cross-section, as plainly seen in the several views. Howev'er,the divided openings oppositely at the ends and middle, respectively,of the valve are in fact two openings to ports separated by web h, and each port curves from this point to its other opening, at right angles thereto, as plainly shown. Thus, as seen in Fig. l, in whichthe web in valve C is sectioned away, the steam is shown as entering the valve through duct d by port l in said valve into passage e, Fig. 2, and thence into the piston-cylinder. At the same time the exhaust is by duct e', port 2 in thevalve, and duct d' to exhaustpipe E. When-the position of the valve is reversed or moved up by the changing of piston D to the other end of its stroke, as in Figs. 3 and L3L, ducts 1 and 2 have been moved up and covered by the valve-casing, and ducts 3 and 4 011 the same side of web h are brought into use as inlet and exhaust ports, respectively. As long as the engine runs Without turning valve C the valve will reciprocate back and forth Within fixed lines and there Will be no change in the operation of the engine; but when a reversal of the engine is Wanted the said valve is given a half-turn around, and this brings the heretofore-idle ports into action and retires those that have been in use. Thus in Figs. 1 and 2 the web being cut away discloses the ports used for runningthe engineinagiven direction and the otherset or side of ports are idle while these are Working, and in such Working valve C is moved in the same line or plane axially back and forth the sameasifit were not rotatable; but to reverse the engine the valve is given a half-turn around, and then the ports which have been in use are rendered idle and the former idle ones are brought into use. The new ports are represented by 5, 6, 7, and 8. However, when the valve is thus reversed these ports 5, 6, 7, and 8 take the reverse character from their companions 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that Whereas ports 1 and 3 are intakeports ports 5 and 8 become exhaust-ports and ports G and 7 become steam-inlet ports. I nd it exceedingly convenient to reverse the engine in this way, and the shank 12 has an angular socket axially in its center adapted to receive the angular stem a, and while the valve is free to slide in respect to the said stem the stem itself is adapted to turn the valve when reversal or throttling of the engine is required. The stem a is shouldered on its inside when it bears against head F of the engine-cylinder, so as not to draw out,

-and a small tubular cap s lits over the outer end of said stein, and a lever or handle 11 is engaged with said cap through stem a and serves to rotate the stem and valve. Packing about cap s makes a steam-tight connection. Any suitable means may be used to fix handle l1 in any of its positions after a given adjustment, and cap s, resting against the outside of cylinder-head F, prevents the stem from being pushed inward.

Another peculiarly novel feature of this engine is the direct operating connection of valve C With piston D Wholly within the casing A. To make this connection, I construct head F of the cylinder-casing with a recess or space of a size adapting it to receive the operating and connecting parts outside the piston itself, but Within said head. The shank of valve C also entends into this space, and the stem a, engaged therein, runs out through head F, where it is provided, preferably, With a crank-handle 11, enabling the valve to be rotated from Without the cylinder for either throttling the engine or reversing it, as elsewhere described. The said valve C is further provided with a shank portion having a series of concentric teeth or rings 12 running entirely around it in this instance, though they may go only part Way around, and engaged by teeth on segmental head 13 on link-lever 14, which is pivoted through its head 13 Within head F of the casing. Another link 15 is pivotally connected with the outer end of link 14 and with piston D at the side or edge nearest the pivot of head 13. This arrangement of lever and link enables me to give a full quarter-rotation to head 13 when the piston travels from one end of the cylinder to the other, Figs. 2 and 4, and in this movement the two links are folded, asin Fig. 2, or elongated, as in Fig. 3. The action on valve C is thus made quiet, but positive, and the mechanism is Where it requires no lubricating or attention from the engineer for cleaning or other purposes. Neither are there any parts to strike or click here or there and make a noise, and the action on the valve is as certain as it can be made by any system of positive mechanism. With the concentric rings or teeth 12 the valve can be rotated Without breaking its working connection with lever 14, and a quarter-turn of the valve either Way will instantly throttle or stop the engine by throwing the valve-ports out of operating connection, and a half-turn Will reverse the engine. This gives the engineer easy and absolute control of the engine. If preferred, this construction may be used as a pump instead of an engine and have power applied through shaft S.

Another novel feature of this engine is the use of four several guide-rods R, connecting piston D with head H. Usually a single central piston-rod is used; but Igeta materiallyimproved effect in operation and a decidedlybetter construction, as I believe, by using a series of small rods rather than one only, and there may be two, three, or four of these, but preferably four. This enables me to dispense wholly with all guides, supports, or the like for head H and avoids friction and expense on this account. Power is delivered to crankshaft S by connecting-rods T, fixed to head II, and the said crank-shaft being located in the base' of the engine enables me to compact the structure and condense the space occupied by the engine, requiring little room comparatively for its operations.

Obviously by a partial rotation of the valve the volume of steam passing to the engine can be controlled, and I may connect a governor with the valve for controlling the steam, and obviously, also, I may use the valve as a rotary or rotating valve in the operation of an engine instead of using it as a longitudinally- IOO IIO

reciprocating valve after the manner shown or stop the engine a complete and effective i shut-off of the steam is obtained no matter at what point valve C may stop after its final upward or downward travel.

InFig. 6 means for adjusting the pivot connections between links 14 and 1'5 is disclosed,

and which consists of the separate bearing members 2O for link 15, locked in slot 2l of link 14 by a tie-bolt 22. The travel of valve C can be lengthened or shortened by these means and the ports in said valve and steampassages in the cylinder-casing be set into proper working relation with each other.

What I claim is- 1. The piston-cylinder and the valve-chamber cast together in one piece, a valve in said valve-chamber and a piston in said cylinder and means pivotally connected with said piston for actuating said valve, substantially as described.

2. The valve-chamber and the valve therein and the piston-cylinder andthe piston therein, and means attached to said piston and connected with said valve to operate the valve, substantially as described.

3. The casing comprising apiston-cylinder and a valve-chamber, in combination with the piston and the valve, a lever operatively engaged-with said valve and a link pivotally connected to the end of said lever and to said piston and adapted to rotate the valve, substantially as described.

4. The cylinder and the valve-chamber and the piston and valve, said valve having a toothed shank at its outer end, a toothed lever engaging said shank and a link pivoted to said lever and to said piston, whereby the said valve is actuated, substantially as described.

5. The en gine-cylinder and valve-chamber, the piston in said cylinder and the valve in said chamber, said valvel having a shank with a series of circular projections, a toothed lever pivoted in the end of said casing and engaging said projections, and a link pivotedA at one end to the said lever and at the other end to said piston, whereby the engine may be throttled and reversed, substantially as described.

6. In steam-engines, a drive-piston and a series of guide rods connected therewith through the head of the piston-cylinder and a head in which the outer ends of said rods are fixed, substantially as described.

7. The engine having a rotatable and axially-movable valve provided with a shank having a series of circularly-disposed teeth, in combination with an actuating-lever engaging said teeth and means connected with one end of the valve to rotate it while engaged by said lever, substantially as described.

8. An engine having a rotatable valve, a separate stem entering said Valve axially from the outside and means connected with said stem to rotate the stem and valve, substantially as described.

9. The engine-cylinder and piston therein, a governing-valve having a shank with a series of circularly-disposed teeth, a toothed lever engaged with said shank and operatively attached to said piston and a spindle on which said valve is slidable constructed to rotate the valve while in engagement with said lever, substantially as described.

10. The engine-casing and its base and a power-shaft in said base, in combination with the piston and a series of guide-rods therein and a head connecting the outer ends of said rods, and a set of power-conveying rods between said head and cranks on the powershaft, substantially as described.

11. A cylindrical valve having a web lengthwise of its' center and a set of four equal portsV GARY B. SMITH.

Witnesses:Y

H. T. FISHER, l R. B. MOSER. 

